Tag: MMA

Tim Kennedy Offers to Donate Fight Purse to Charity to Fight Michael Bisping

Strikeforce middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has been busy over the past few days. Kennedy has officially called out the UFC’s Michael Bisping who made headlines with his antics against at UFC 127 where he landed an flagrant illegal knee to the jaw o…

Strikeforce middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has been busy over the past few days. Kennedy has officially called out the UFC’s Michael Bisping who made headlines with his antics against at UFC 127 where he landed an flagrant illegal knee to the jaw of Kennedy’s friend, Jorge Rivera.

Kennedy took to Twitter where he began a verbal lashing the U.K.’s most popular fighter on Tuesday, May 17.

@TimKennedyMMA: It is #disrespectful and unprofessional to illegally knee someone in the face while they have their knees on the ground @bisping

@TimKennedyMMA: #alliwantis little boys and girls to understand that cheating like @bisping doesn’t pay. Contrary to actual outcome of his last fight.

@TimKennedyMMA: @bisping I often re-watch fights in my division to try and learn something new. Takeaway from your fight was @Jorge_Conquistais awesome.

@TimKennedyMMA: #itshardwhen you want to fight the best but have to wait for them to step up. GIVE ME A FIGHT

Never one to be shy about returning trash talk, Bisping responded Wednesday to Kennedy’s tweets during an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.

“It’s completely weird. He actually sent me a Tweet. It was directed to me, @bisping, ‘Bisping you’re an a**hole,’ or something, ‘You disrespected the sport and Jorge Rivera for the illegal knee.’ Normally, I never, ever respond to negative Tweets because, you know, all you’re doing is confirming to this person that you’ve actually read it and it may have gotten to you, so I never usually respond. But on this occasion, I thought, Here you’ve got another fellow professional of the sport that should know better, and he’s directing it at me. I’ve never met the guy, he doesn’t even fight in the UFC, and I just said, You know what, Tim Kennedy? Go f**k yourself. You’ve missed the train. That bandwagon left two months ago. I don’t know what his problem is. Again, he’s another one in a long list of people who’s trying to make a name off my back.”

Jorge Rivera and Kennedy’s Ranger Up business partner Nick Palmisciano spoke out in March about the UFC 127 situation, but according to the Ranger Up Facebook page, Tim Kennedy is prepared to let his fists do the talking.

‎”I will give my fight purse to charity if the UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship lets me fight Bisping,” Kennedy stated.

Suggestions of a possible Bisping vs. Kennedy season of The Ultimate Fighter have been flooding in on Twitter, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Many other fighters have been calling out Bisping over the last few months, so Kennedy may have to get in line.

The biggest obstacle is likely the contract implications which are still somewhat of a mystery since Zuffa purchased Strikeforce. While fighters are technically under contract with Zuffa whether they are in the UFC or Strikeforce, UFC President Dana White has made it sound more complicated than that. No Strikeforce fighter has fought on a UFC card, or vice versa, since the merger.

But no other fighter has offered to give up his fight purse just for a chance to deliver another Dan Henderson-like knockout to the Brit, either.

The storylines in this potential fight are juicy and plentiful.

Let’s make this happen.

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UFC 131 Fight Card: Is Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos a Better Fight?

UFC fans got terrible news last week when it was learned that Brock Lesnar would be replaced by Shane Carwin after dropping out of his scheduled UFC 131 fight with Junior dos Santos due to another bout with diverticulitis.While Lesnar dropping out of t…

UFC fans got terrible news last week when it was learned that Brock Lesnar would be replaced by Shane Carwin after dropping out of his scheduled UFC 131 fight with Junior dos Santos due to another bout with diverticulitis.

While Lesnar dropping out of the fight will certainly hurt the buyrate bottom line for the UFC, one could make the case that the main event of UFC 131 is actually better now. 

I know what you’re thinking—Shane Carwin lost to Brock Lesnar in his last fight, so how could Carwin vs. Dos Santos be better than Lesnar vs. Dos Santos? But remember, it’s not necessarily the rankings of the fighters that matter. As they always say, “styles make fights.”

At UFC 131, it will have been almost a year since the last time we saw Carwin step into a UFC cage. 12-0 at the time with all 12 wins coming by way of knockout or submission, Carwin was already the UFC interim heavyweight champion and looked to be on a warpath toward the official UFC heavyweight championship. 

But it was Lesnar, who was coming off of his first bout with diverticulitis, who stopped the Colorado native’s undefeated streak in its tracks. 

Now a year older and a year wiser, Carwin was scheduled to fight UFC newcomer Jon Olav Einemo at UFC 131 before the opportunity to fight Dos Santos arose. Though no fights in MMA are a slam-dunk, this certainly looked like an attempt to get Carwin back in the win column against a 35-year-old fighter with questionable standup skills.

Now lined up to face a fighter who mirrors his 12-1 career record, Carwin will need to significantly change his training regiment as he prepares for the event. Jon Olav Einemo is an absolute wizard on the ground while Junior dos Santos has spent about as little time on the ground in his MMA career as has anyone in the sport.

That said, Dos Santos poses a significantly bigger challenge in the standup game, as he may possess some of the best technical MMA boxing skills of any heavyweight. Dos Santos has won eight of his 12 fights by way of knockout, including memorable highlight-reel knockouts against Stefan Struve, Fabricio Werdum, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga. 

A member of the Black House MMA team, Junior dos Santos works regularly with the likes of Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo and Lyoto Machida, along with a host of other top talents in the world; many of whom are among the very best strikers in their divisions. Dos Santos is no exception.

Months ago, I would’ve laughed at anyone who suggested that training with Steven Seagal at Black House would be an advantage for Dos Santos, but two crazy front kicks to the face from Silva and Machida later, and I’d now be eating my words. It still seems crazy on the surface, but there may actually be some legitimacy to the hype. 

Regardless, the UFC 131 main event will feature two big-time strikers who have the ability to knockout anyone in the sport, which could very well lead to a standup war the likes of which is rarely seen in MMA, with two fighters who may never even look to bring the fight to the ground. 

While the jiu-jitsu fan in me wants to shake my fist at this kind of technique, I know that the overwhelming majority of fans are looking for the big knockout to tell their friends about the next day. They may cheer a beautiful transition on the ground or a nice submission, but those things are rarely remembered when fans talk about the “best fights ever.” 

I’m always reminded of the standup war at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale, when Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin fought in an epic battle to determine who would be the victor and earn himself a UFC contract. While Griffin won the fight, many fans will always remember this war as one that helped get them more excited about the sport, or even expose them to the sport in the first place.

It wasn’t the most technical battle and it was fought on the feet practically the entire time, but this fight is one that is still talked about now over six years after it happened.

Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos is sure to be a more technical battle than that was, but it does have the potential to have the same type of impact for fans. 

So don’t tune out just because Brock Lesnar’s name is no longer on the marquee. If Carwin has worked on his cardio enough to last the full three rounds without gassing like he did in the second round of his fight with Lesnar, we may actually be looking at a potential Fight of the Year candidate in the main event at UFC 131.

UFC 130 Dos Santos vs. Carwin: Fight Card, News, Predictions, Results and More!

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Brock Lesnar and the 10 Fighters Who Could Benefit from Trainer Freddie Roach

Freddie Roach is known for molding boxing champions.  Recently, he has worked with pound-for-pound kingpin, boxing’s equivalent of Anderson Silva, Manny Pacquiao.  Roach was a very good boxer in his days in the prize ring and now he is an eve…

Freddie Roach is known for molding boxing champions.  Recently, he has worked with pound-for-pound kingpin, boxing’s equivalent of Anderson Silva, Manny Pacquiao.  Roach was a very good boxer in his days in the prize ring and now he is an even better trainer than he was a fighter.

This slideshow will explore the men fighting in MMA who could benefit greatly from his technical boxing instruction and training.  Some you will agree with and some you may shake your head at.  I will try and explain why these ten men were chosen for the list.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 131 Fight Card: Mac Danzig out of Bout with Donald Cerrone; Vagner Rocha in

Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:After suffering an injury during training camp, UFC lightweight Mac Danzig has been forced to withdraw from his bout against former WEC star, Donald Cerrone at UFC 131. The news became official earlier this week, courte…

Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:

After suffering an injury during training camp, UFC lightweight Mac Danzig has been forced to withdraw from his bout against former WEC star, Donald Cerrone at UFC 131. The news became official earlier this week, courtesy of MMAJunkie.com.

As a result, UFC newcomer Vagner Rocha will replace Danzig. 

The Brazilian has fought professionally since 2009, competing under multiple organizations such as Bellator Fighting Championship and Strikeforce. Holding a professional record of 6-1-0, Rocha is still relatively young in his mixed martial arts career, but he will certainly want to prove he is a competitor when he is slated to make his Octagon debut in June. 

Cerrone, a former lightweight contender in the WEC, will look to continue his winning streak in the UFC. In his debut at UFC 126, Cerrone picked up a victory over Paul Kelly via rear naked choke, in addition to receiving “Submission of the Night” honours. Cerrone was one of the top lightweight contenders in the WEC and he will look to make a similar impression in the UFC lightweight division.

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UFC: Hey Quinton Jackson, Where’s Rampage?

Quinton Jackson, the man dubbed Rampage, was once one of the most feared mixed martial artists at 205 pounds. His trademark howl was accompanied by slams that once knocked out Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004 on June 20 of that year. His …

Quinton Jackson, the man dubbed Rampage, was once one of the most feared mixed martial artists at 205 pounds. His trademark howl was accompanied by slams that once knocked out Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004 on June 20 of that year. His wrestling was relentless and he had no doubt power in both fists that knocked out the likes of Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Kevin Randleman, just to name a few.

However, that was then and this is now. I used to love Rampage. When he was signed to the UFC back in 2006, I was ecstatic. I immediately thought about a rematch with Chuck Liddell and was thinking world championships for him in the most prominent mixed martial arts organization in the world.

He did win the light heavyweight title at the expense of Chuck Liddell in their rematch of their Pride meeting back in 2007 at UFC 71, which saw Jackson knock Liddell out in the first round to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. He then went on to defend it once against Dan Henderson in a historical battle that saw him unify the UFC and Pride Light Heavyweight Championships in a hard fought five round battle at UFC 75 in London, England. He then lost it to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 on July 5, 2008.

Since then, Rampage has faded. He went on to avenge his two losses against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December of 2008 with a first round knockout, however since then, where is he?

He fought Keith Jardine at UFC 96 and won a three-round decision. Then, went on to lose a decision to Rashad Evans, a fight that was long-awaited and one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history. In between that time, Jackson starred in the A-Team movie.

That’s where it all went wrong. Jackson has since then stated that acting is his next career choice, and quite frankly, mixed martial arts isn’t that important to him anymore. He has explicitly stated that when movies start paying him as much as MMA does, he’s done.

Really Jackson? You’re going to leave behind what has made you famous and what the fans love you for? I don’t look down on you because you want to act. I do because of how you’re going about the rest of your career.

In the cage, it’s showing that you simply don’t care anymore. You say that you’re just here to get paid, well you’re doing a great job of living up to that. The very reason they call you Rampage, the slams, the power, the knockouts, they aren’t there anymore. You fought a lackluster fight against Evans, one which you were supposed to go and annihilate the man you hate. You fought another lackluster fight against Machida, and won a decision that many thought you lost.

You don’t like it when journalists press you with hard questions, you aren’t as engaged in MMA interviews as you once were and you simply don’t seem that interested in talking about your fights. You say it’s about the money now, you say that you’re only here to fight and leave, and you’re showing it.

I find it hard for myself to continue to be a fan of you. I love this sport and I love fighters who love the sport just as much as I do. You just don’t anymore and you’re no longer the Rampage that I started to like years ago. You’re no longer the Rampage that came into the UFC in 2007 after tearing the ring apart in Pride. You’re no longer the Rampage that came into knockout people and win titles and fight to be the very best. Simply put, you’re no longer Rampage.

Now that you’ve recently come out and said you’ve only got a couple of more years left in the sport and you plan on retiring for good at age 35, I suppose we’ll never see the Rampage that we all have come to love. It’s sad, but I suppose we have to move on just as much you have.

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MMA News 5/18: Chael Sonnen, Nick Diaz, Rampage Jackson, Dos Santos and More

Bleacher Report’s MMA News recap for Wednesday May 18:Kimbo Slice to try his hand(s) at boxing?American Top Team looking for top level wrestlers.Carlos Condit looking for challenges at welterweight.Jake Ellenberger feels that he can beat Jake Shields.C…

Bleacher Report’s MMA News recap for Wednesday May 18:

Kimbo Slice to try his hand(s) at boxing?

American Top Team looking for top level wrestlers.

Carlos Condit looking for challenges at welterweight.

Jake Ellenberger feels that he can beat Jake Shields.

Chael Sonnen’s suspension with the CSAC stands.

Nick Diaz as a pulp fiction detective.

Junior dos Santos talks Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.

Matt Hamill relishes the role of the underdog.

Quinton Jackson is not excited with his upcoming fight against Matt Hamill.

Mac Danzig off UFC 131 fight card with injury.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com